By Victoria Ferguson Dip. Herb. Med.

The long drought followed by good rains in some areas has resulted in an explosion of Paterson's Curse in NSW, ACT and Vic, also known as Salvation Jane in South Australia.

With it has come an epidemic of liver damage in horses, including a great many deaths. The tragic part of this whole scenario is that this situation can be prevented and if treated with herbs early enough, most horses can be returned to good health.

Paterson's Curse (Echium plantagineum) when eaten by horses on a regular basis, causes severe liver damage which can easily result in death. This situation usually occurs when there is a seasonal flush of the weed so that it chokes out grasses. This happens in particular after a drought where the soil is compacted & unbalanced as it thrives in these conditions, unlike good pasture grasses. It can only grow from seed but that seed can remain viable in the ground for 15 years, so prevention of seeding should obviously be a priority for preventing spread.

"Poor pasture management, including overgrazing by horses, the absence of ruminants and lack of pasture cultivation, the failure to use appropriate fertilizers and to manage pasture as a crop lead to its general decline both in terms of productivity and the ingress and dissemination of poisonous, and therefore unwanted, plants." (1)

If horses are left in these kinds of paddocks with no choice but to eat the weed, for any length of time, their livers will become damaged, often to the point of fibrosis, that is beyond repair. If horses reach the point where they are very poor, with little or no appetite, and possibly scouring and disoriented, it is too late. Other symptoms may include lesions especially on white socks and blazes.

PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

If horses are removed from the offending paddocks early on and hand fed a natural diet, then the damage can be prevented. If horses are already suffering some degree of liver damage (which can be assessed by a vet using blood tests), they also need to be treated with herbs which assist and stimulate the liver to regenerate. This organ has a remarkable ability to do this, but can reach a point of no return, if no help is offered as outlined.

Most horses that are well fed (either pasture or hard fed) will not normally eat Paterson's Curse. Some horses may develop a predilection for the weed, but can be balanced if treated as above. If horses do ingest only a small amount of the plant, it may not cause any harm, especially if the animal is very healthy, but it is wise to get rid of this weed from areas where horses graze. Seek advice from an organic growers' group or similar for natural ways of doing this by balancing the soil, rather than spraying with poisonous herbicides. Where the weed has taken over in large tracts of land, it is unfortunately going to be necessary to spray as part of an eradication campaign. However on small holdings where horses are kept, horses should be removed from the area before spraying and not allowed back until the area has been regenerated with good pasture which would be likely to take some considerable time. I have heard several horror stories of horses that were already ill being left in paddocks when spraying was taking place, with tragic consequences. The liver already damaged by the affects of the Paterson's curse was dealt a fatal blow from the affects of toxic herbicides. This can also be caused from drift. All parts of the weed are poisonous and the affects are cumulative.

HERBAL TREATMENT

In the July issue of Horse Deals the issue of detoxification was discussed in some detail including the important liver herbs Dandelion and St Mary's Thistle. Obviously a liver herb is going to be the first choice for a herbal mixture to start treating a horse affected by Paterson's Curse poisoning and will more than likely be St Mary's Thistle. Trying to feed the horse enough of this herb in the dried form when their appetite is usually impaired is not going to be effective. In cases of liver damage I always use glycetracts which are liquid and usually easy to syringe into the horse's mouth. They must be mixed with an equal amount of water or make them more palatable and given in two to three small doses daily. It is not necessary to use massive doses. I heard of a case where the owner had been advised to give 100 mls of St Mary's Thistle extract straight once daily! In my opinion this could have caused more problems as normal extracts are alcohol based whereas glycetracts are made using vegetable glycerine as the base.

As always in holistic treatment other herbs will be selected to deal with the particular case individually. For example appetite stimulants, immune system stimulants and soothing gut demulcents/digestive aids are often necessary and of course the relevant Bach flower essences to help lift energy levels & help the animal fight back. See Case History.

THE ROLE OF THE LIVER

"The liver is the largest gland in the body and is an important organ of the digestive system, but is vitally concerned directly or indirectly in all bodily functions. The liver is the powerhouse of the body receiving blood rich in digested foods which it metabolises into cell nutrients. As the horse does not have a gall bladder like humans do, the liver is solely responsible for secreting bile to initiate digestion in the gut. The liver also plays the vital role of cleansing the blood of toxins such as drugs and poisons. Liver damage is caused by toxins, poisons, long term drug us, viral and bacterial infections and migrating worm larvae." (2)